KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS – Hawaii's annual boys volleyball tournament concluded Saturday, ending two long days of action.
Hawaii Baptist Academy defeated Mililani High School 2-1 (25-15, 25-21, 15-9) to win the Gold Bracket, while Waipahu High School defeated University Lab School 2-0. and won the silver bracket final.
Participating teams competed in a day and a half of pool competition, with the top two teams from each pool advancing to the Gold Bracket on Saturday, with the bottom teams advancing to the Silver Bracket.
Eighteen teams participated in the tournament, including nine from Oahu and nine from the Big Island Interhigh Federation (BIIF) — KS Hawaii, Hilo High School, Waiakea High School, Keaau High School, Kealakehe High School, Kohala High School, Konawaena High School, Pahoa Hai and Ka Umeke Kaeo PCS.
Four BIIF teams advanced to the Gold Bracket: KSH, Hilo, Waiakea, and Konawaena. KSH advanced furthest into the final four, losing to HBA 2-0 (25-21 and 25-22). KS-Hawai'i lost 2-0 to 'Iolani School in the third-place game, ending the tournament.
KSH and the Vikings clashed in Gold Bracket play, with the Warriors defeating Hilo 2-0 (25-19, 25-14). Konawaena and Waiakea met in the first round of the Gold Bracket, with the Wildcats winning 2-0 (25-14, 25-14). Kona lost to Mililani 2-1 (25-22, 17-25, 15-8) in the quarterfinals. After the loss, Hilo and Konawaena lost in repechage games against Waialua High School and Kalani High School, respectively.
BIIF men's volleyball begins in earnest this week with 15 games scheduled, including three on Monday, two on Tuesday, three on Wednesday, two on Thursday, three on Friday and two on Saturday.
KS-Hawaii
This tournament was a great springboard and trial run for the defending BIIF Division I champions, who have graduated several seniors from last year, many of them starters, and are entering a new era.
“The big difference is we lost six seniors,” KSH head coach Sam Thomas said. “We lost our starting center, we lost our starting middle, we lost our outside hitter and our libero. So we tried to make up for it during the season. We have six talented fourth-year players. , it should be an interesting season.”
Despite all the turnover, the Warriors are neither young nor green. A number of new seniors have stepped up, including ScoringLive All-Hawaii third team selection Clenn Pua in his junior year.
The important thing at this point is to know where everyone fits in.
Thomas said three of his most notable seniors are Roho Bochar, Karena Rauniu and Kahili Pareka.
“These three guys look very promising,” Thomas said. “We also have a good middle, Tanoa Latiti, she’s a sophomore but has improved her skills and is about 6’1. On the other side we have Kara Makaike and Nainoa Paio. , they're really good players.”
